Middle Gate Students Get

‘Stars’ In Their Eyes

By Larissa Lytwyn

To kick-off its nutrition awareness program, Sodexho Alliance literally had Middle Gate Elementary School students and faculty seeing stars. Sodexho is the culinary service for Newtown’s public schools.

Middle Gate cook Kathie Balakier volunteered to costume herself as Sodexho’s mascot, a giant, smiley-faced, squeezable soft blue star. The stars are part of Sodexho’s logo.

“I love to dress up!” Kathie declared. While she described the heavy costume as understandably warm, she noted it also included a self-activated fan that whirred just above her head.

“All in all, I was happy to do this,” she said.

   Food services director Sallie Strand said it’s important for students to consume more fruits and vegetables, especially in light of America’s rising obesity rates, especially among children.

“Research indicates that it takes between 10 and 20 tastes of a food for people to decide whether or not they like it,” she said.

Parents who discourage their child from eating a healthy vegetable or fruit after one or two tries should continue their effort, she added.

“I always leave a plate of fruit out on the table for my family,” she said. “Then people can eat if they please. It’s not forced on them, but it’s still there.”

A former dietician at Westchester County Medical Center in Westchester, N.Y., Ms Strand knows first hand the damage a dearth of fruit and vegetable consumption can do, she said.

Middle Gate students had the opportunity to sample a variety of exotic fruits, including mango.

Students who ventured to try the fruit were rewarded with stickers bearing smiling, cartoon-faced strawberries as well as crossword puzzles, word searches and other games, all with nutritional themes.

“We really are trying an integrated approach,” said Ms Strand.

She said Sodexho is also introducing lines of healthier versions of favorite snack-food, including baked potato chips.

Before interacting with students during their lunch times, Ms Balakier enjoyed visiting with students in the special education PROBE classes.

“My daughter used to be in PROBE,” she said. “I just couldn’t do this without visiting them.”

When the first wave of students, all third graders, came to lunch, the cafeteria filled with screams of delight.

“Usually nothing ever happens during our lunch time,” explained third grader Robbie Daigle. “It’s cool to see this!”

Large groups of children circled Ms Balakier, volunteering to hug her and pose with her for pictures.

A crowd also quickly assembled at the fruit table. Ms Strand carefully distributed plates bearing samples of the fruit.

But the top attraction remained Ms Balakier as the star.

One student, Kyler Harmeling described the costume as “big” and “exciting.”

“It makes me thing of Santa Claus!” added Alex Kelly.

Alex, Kyler and Robbie proceeded to rise from their seats for an opportunity to give the approaching Ms Balakier a hug that soon rose into a giant embrace by about 50 students.

“This is so much fun!” Robbie declared.

The boys then headed toward the table of fruit.